3 ms·

I'm a Brit. As a young teen I travelled with my parents to the west. One night we had dinner in a restaurant where the service was slow, got things wrong, and w

by nly 12y ago

I'm a Brit. As a young teen I travelled with my parents to the west. One night we had dinner in a restaurant where the service was slow, got things wrong, and where the food was just sub-par to awful. We left without tipping, only to have the manager literally follow my dad out of the restaurant, chase him down in the street, and try to guilt him in to hand over more money... exactly like you'd expect if he was some kind of thief not paying his bill. It was undignified and embarrassing, and the lady didn't seem put back at all when he told her we had had a horrible experience there. She wasn't just concerned about the service we had received either, as far as she was concerned a 20% tip was her right. I understand the pay structure in the service industry in the US requires tipping for waiters and waitresses etc to make a living, but the whole thing seems sordid. Turning something that should be a gesture of genuine appreciation in to a meaningless ritual.

inanutshellus 12y ago
I've had the same experience happen to me. Bad service (which is quite a feat at a serve-yourself buffet), so no tip, then chased outside with the waitress shouting through the establishment "YOU NO PAY FOR SERVICE!" I've never been back, of course, but it always reminds me of the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. I am Mr. Pink. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qV9wVGb38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qV9wVGb38)
pyre 12y ago
> as far as she was concerned a 20% tip was her right Not everyone is like this. I have had a similar thing happen on one occasion[1]. I think that there must be some sort of correlation between people who thing that they are owed the tip no matter what level of service they give, and people that don't give a damn about the service that they provide. [1] In the US (and Canada), it is 'customary' to tip larger for a large group of people. Many restaurants automatically add 18+% gratuity to the bill for groups of 8+ people. In this instance, the restaurant/bar did not do this, and the waitress gave us very poor service (e.g. disappeared for long periods of time). On the way out she complained that it's customary to tip 18% for large groups (in a sarcastic, "you're a bunch of assholes" tone). My wife (who has been a waitress) fired back that maybe she should talk to her manager about making it gratuity mandatory for large groups then.

by nly 12y ago

inanutshellus 12y ago

I've had the same experience happen to me. Bad service (which is quite a feat at a serve-yourself buffet), so no tip, then chased outside with the waitress shouting through the establishment "YOU NO PAY FOR SERVICE!" I've never been back, of course, but it always reminds me of the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. I am Mr. Pink. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qV9wVGb38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qV9wVGb38)

pyre 12y ago

> as far as she was concerned a 20% tip was her right Not everyone is like this. I have had a similar thing happen on one occasion[1]. I think that there must be some sort of correlation between people who thing that they are owed the tip no matter what level of service they give, and people that don't give a damn about the service that they provide. [1] In the US (and Canada), it is 'customary' to tip larger for a large group of people. Many restaurants automatically add 18+% gratuity to the bill for groups of 8+ people. In this instance, the restaurant/bar did not do this, and the waitress gave us very poor service (e.g. disappeared for long periods of time). On the way out she complained that it's customary to tip 18% for large groups (in a sarcastic, "you're a bunch of assholes" tone). My wife (who has been a waitress) fired back that maybe she should talk to her manager about making it gratuity mandatory for large groups then.